1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to managing media access control (MAC) addresses for networked devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system (IHS) generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes, thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In systems management, the media access control (MAC) address of a networked device is often used to uniquely identify that system for targeted deployment of an operating system (OS) or for identification after OS deployment. An example is a Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr for short). When the networked device is first entered into the ConfigMgr database, the ConfigMgr database captures the MAC address which is then used to identify the networked device. Networked devices that include a network interface controller (NIC) generally have a MAC address that is hard coded. NICs are also known as network adapters, local area network (LAN) adapters, and similar terms. Ethernet standard is one ubiquitous used in NICs. Ethernet-based NICs are often included as an expansion card or built into the motherboard of the networked device.
In many instances, however, networked devices are being developed with no onboard NIC. For example, a number of networked devices such as laptops can be connected to an enterprise system via a docking station. For each of the laptops, an original eqiupment manufacturer (OEM) MAC address provisioned in a universal serial bus (USB) NIC is used many times used over and over when first registering these laptops into the ConfigMgr database. This results in many networked devices getting registered with the same MAC address. In another scenario, a single networked device such as a laptop is used at different physical locations, such as at one or more work locations and at the user's home. A different docking station or network dongle at each location can have a different physical NIC that is then used for the same networked device. In both instances, the overall ecosystem is harder to manage.